Work has started on an ambitious project which – if approved – will help homeless people in Wrexham.
At the start of the pandemic, to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, councils across Wales took immediate action to ensure nobody had to live on the streets.
Wrexham already had a night shelter at Tŷ Nos on Holt Road, as well as temporary accommodation normally used during the winter.
But with Welsh Government funding, the council and its partners were able to step-up their approach, and rough sleepers were encouraged to take up surplus accommodation at Glyndwr University – where they were provided with personal support and somewhere safe during the pandemic.
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Welsh Government then invited bids for further funding to help councils ensure people didn’t have to go back to sleeping rough…by providing more suitable accommodation for rough sleepers and people at risk of ending up without a home.
As a result, Wrexham Council was awarded £2.2 million to replace the former Tŷ Nos night shelter with a new accommodation hub on the same site.
Ground investigations
Initial site investigations and surveys are set to begin in the next week or so, which form part of the pre-planning process and the Pre-Planning Application Consultation (PAC) process, before a full application can be made.
If the project receives planning approval, the hub will be built in partnership with ClwydAlyn Housing Association, and will provide self-contained accommodation and facilities where support can be provided to rough sleepers.
The aim would be to give each person the individual support they need to help them get back on their feet and find somewhere permanent to live.
Cllr David Griffiths, Lead Member for Housing at Wrexham Council, said: “Providing rough sleepers with a safe place to stay – along with the support they need to improve their lives, health, employment and long-term housing prospects – is really important.
“If approved, the proposed development on the Tŷ Nos site would play a key role in providing this support in Wrexham.”
Clare Budden, CEO at ClwydAlyn, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Wrexham Council and Welsh Government; to provide new homes for people who have been homeless.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to end homelessness in Wales and it will be great to see the night shelter which we have run for many years, being replaced with high quality homes and with a new model of support services being provided on site by the council.”
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